How does the Bill of Rights balance governmental powers with the rights of individuals?

Answer 1

The Bill of Rights was demanded by critics of the Constitution (the Anti-Federalists), who noted that the Constitution did not prevent the federal government from restricting certain rights. The Bill of Rights was largely meant to prevent the very abuses that caused the Revolutionary War, and/or abuses that had traditionally been solved by other facets of English Common Law.

In essence, the Bill of Rights sets up certain parts of an individual's life that government may not interfere with or directly regulate. For the most part, these protections are only between the Federal government and the individual, until the 14th Amendment was largely interpreted to force the States to also hold to the Bill of Rights as well.